Art Imitating Life.

This is a guest post by Jennifer Pierce, author of Hidden Danger, a Christian romantic suspense. It’s an amazing book!

First and foremost, thank you for having me! I’m happy to be here. As you’ve probably gathered, my name is Jennifer Pierce and I’m the author of Hidden Danger. Let me tell you a little about this story. We’ll begin with the official blurb: All Maggie Jones wants to do is sell her late father’s property and get out of Whitehaven, Texas as fast as possible—before she runs into the one man she’s spent the past six years avoiding. Someone has other plans for her, though. Sinister plans. And when a seemingly harmless act of vandalism turns into a series of menacing threats, she has no choice but to turn to last person on earth she wants to see for help.

Sheriff Cody Smith never expected to see Maggie again, especially after he’d broken her heart all those years ago. Maybe this is the second chance he’s always wanted. But when he realizes Maggie’s in grave danger, he intends to keep her safe at all costs. With lines from an old nursery rhyme as their only clue, he needs to find out who’s behind this deadly game before the rhyme ends and Maggie’s time runs out. Can he protect her, catch the bad guy, and make amends for past wrongs? Or will old wounds get in the way?

When you read the book, you’ll learn the answer to all those questions and see what happens with Maggie and Cody. You’ll learn what nursery rhyme is used. Who the villain is and why he/she did it.

What you won’t find out is the story behind the novel.

They say you write what you know. They weren’t kidding. My father died in January 2014. I spent the entire year with my nose in books. Sometime in 2015 I thought, “I can do this. I can write a book.” And I did.

A lot of the details about Maggie’s father are true to mine. He really did have expired medicine in his cabinet. I found the t-shirt and swimming trunks from a picture that was taken in the 80s. Jars of coins lined his dresser.

Not just details about my father made it into the story. Maggie has a memory about her brother and Cody putting a dead snake on the porch steps and calling her out to find it. True story. My brother and his friend did that. Scared me!

Amelia was based of my youth leader, now best friend.

I used to have a pair of duck slippers.

Proverbs 18:10 is my favorite verse.

There’s a scene where Maggie talks to Cody and explains that everything she has experienced has culminated into the person she had become. I believe that.

There are other things that I pulled from my experiences but then there are a lot more that are pure fiction. While the entire story is fiction, adding some of my memories, experiences and thought processes make my characters real and relatable.

Get a copy of Hidden Danger and see if there’s a character you can relate to.